NEWS TO KNOW

[Pages:6]NEWS TO KNOW

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

March 2017

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Tu i t i o n & Fe e Wa i ve r P ro g r a m s

TUITION & FEE WAIVER..... 1 PROGRAMS FEDERAL RESERVE REPORT. 2 NYFF RESOURCES.............. 2 MAPPING YOUR FUTURE.... 3 IMPORTANT..................... 4 ANNOUNCEMENTS CALENDAR...................... 5 CONTACT OSFA............... 5 OSFA PHILOSOPHY............ 6

The state of Florida offers a variety of tuition and fee waivers, including but not limited to:

Department of Children and Families Tuition and Fee Exemption Tuition and fee waiver for students who reached the age of 18 while receiving DCF services, were adopted from DCF, were in custody of a relative or in a legal guardianship after the age of 16 and spent at least 6 months in DCF custody

Homeless Fee Exemption Tuition and fee waiver for students who meet the definition of homelessness as outlined in Florida law

Out-of-State Tuition and Fee Waiver for Select High School Graduates Student must have attended a Florida high school for 3 consecutive years prior to graduation; student must apply for admission to a Florida college/university within 24 months of high school graduation

Purple Heart Waivers Tuition and fee waiver available at Florida State Colleges

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Reserve System "Student Loan Counseling Challenges and

Opportunities" Report

Executive Summary

The college financial aid process is complicated, confusing, and financially risky for many individuals and families. Effective financial counseling can help students make the financial and educational choices that are best for them, but schools face financial and legal constraints on their ability to provide highly effective counseling.

As part of its community development function, the Federal Reserve "promotes fair and informed access to financial markets for communities and individuals."1 The Federal Reserve also advances supervision, community reinvestment, and research to increase understanding of the impacts of financial services policies and practices on consumers, communities, and the broader economy.

To better understand how students make decisions about paying for their education, especially with student loans--which for many students represent the first large financial investment they make--the Board, in conjunction with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), held two focus groups with financial aid administrators from around the country that explored the counseling techniques they use and the challenges they encounter in helping students navigate their financial decisions. This report presents the finding from those focus groups, and explores:

the tools and strategies that financial aid administrators use to provide counseling to students, beyond the Department of Education's online program;

the resource, administrative, regulatory, and legal challenges that counselors believe inhibit their ability to provide effective counseling;

counselors' recommendations for improving systems if resource, legal, and student participation constraints were removed; and

how school administrators measure the efficacy of their counseling programs.

To review the full report, click here.

1Learn more about the Federal Reserve's community development function and efforts at munitydev/default.htm.

A variety of financial aid and financial literacy resources are available for FREE online at: .

Topics include:

Career Planning

Financial Aid Overview

Financial Literacy

Managing Your Budget

Managing Your Credit

Mapping Your Future: FAFSA

Money Management ID Theft

Repayment of Your Student Loan Debt:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Searching for Scholarships

Show Me the Money! Financial Planning for College

Stay, Stop or Drop?

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

By: Catherine Mueller

In the interest of borrowers ? making sure they claim loan interest deductions

Borrowers who are paying back federal student loans may be eligible to deduct a portion of the interest paid on his or her 2016 federal tax return. For more information on this topic, click here.

Mapping Your Future Benefits

The Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is a proud sponsor of Mapping Your Future. Through this sponsorship, Florida institutions, students and families are provided free access to a variety of resources. To learn more about the benefits provided through this sponsorship, click here.

Picking the Perfect Payment Plan

The good news? Borrowers have a lot of options when it comes to repaying their student loans.

The bad news? Borrowers have a lot of options when it comes to repaying their student loans.

Mapping Your Future (MYF) includes information about Direct Loan repayment plans on the website, in the Repayment Options flyer (available in the Access Area for Members for their student loan borrowers), and in Online Counseling sessions.

While there are a variety of options for student loan repayment, the options can be confusing. The amount of student loan information that borrowers receive is overwhelming. Fortunately, borrowers can get assistance from servicers, but it is in their best interest to understand the different repayment options and which one best fits their needs.

For more information about sharing repayment plan information with your students, contact MYF at 800-374-4072 or feedback@.

Understanding Tax Transcripts

Mapping Your Future and Thomas and Associates, CPAs, LLC created a video that provides information about how to request IRS tax transcripts and an overview of what information is included. To view this video, click here.

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

2016-17 FASFAA Training

Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (FASFAA) FASFAA @ 50 Annual Conference May 30--June 2 (Orlando, FL) For more information, visit .

2016-17 NASFAA Training

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) NASFAA Annual Conference June 26--29 (San Diego, CA) For more information, visit .

2017 FSA Training Conference for Financial Aid Professionals

Federal Student Aid (FSA) FSA Annual Conference November 28--December 1 (Lake Buena Vista, FL) For more information, visit .

Navigating Your Financial Future (NyFF) Website

The revised NyFF website is now open! The OSFA Outreach Team has been working diligently behind the scenes to add "presentations on demand" that are geared to counselors, mentors and new financial aid personnel. There is also a separate "presentations on demand" section that is geared toward students and families. This new platform is also device friendly and is now accessible via desktop, cellphone or tablet! Check it out today!

OSFA Outreach Team --NyFF Current Events

Did you know the OSFA Outreach Team conducted 29 in-person and 4 webinars during the month of January? If you are interested in seeing where we will be in the upcoming weeks, please visit our website. The event list is sorted by county, then date and is updated on a weekly basis. For additional information regarding a particular event, please contact the assigned OSFA Outreach Representative.

Student Financial Assistance Government Program Summary

The Student Financial Assistance Program provides students attending Florida public and private postsecondary educational institutions access to state administered grants, loans, and scholarships. To view the January 2017 Summary from the Florida Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, click here.

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OSFA'S OUTREACH TEAM CONTACT INFORMATION

OSFA INFO

February/March Term 2 refunds/reconciliation due to OSFA within 60

days after the last day of drop/add. Program compliance audits due from participating

private institutions. Program funds sent to eligible PSIs for Term 3. March/April Term 2 quarter refunds of Bright Futures

dropped/withdrawn course funds are due within 30 days of the institution's last day of each term. Term 3 DER's are due 30 days after the last day of drop/add.

Lori Auxier Director of Outreach Services 561-389-6346, office Lori.Auxier@

Jan Smith Manager of Outreach Services 850-245-1822, office Jan.Smith@

Isabel Acevedo Outreach Representative South Florida 305-364-3062, office Isabel.Acevedo@

Pedro "Pete" Hernandez Outreach Representative Northeast Florida 850-245-1821, office Pedro.Hernandez@

Gerri McCormick Outreach Representative Greater Orlando 407-207-4944, office/fax Gerri.McCormick@

Robin Pernice Outreach Representative Greater Palm Beach/Broward 561-357-4837, office/fax Robin.Pernice@

Stephanie Rosh Outreach Representative Greater Tampa 727-771-4397, office/fax Stephanie.Rosh@

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

THE OSFA PHILOSOPHY

The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) has the ability to offer its partners and customers something few public agencies can, the ability to shape OSFA programs and services based on their specific needs and concerns. OSFA provides financial aid workshops, publications, prompt services for participants, and helps fund scholarship and grant programs. If a participant has a problem or suggestion, the OSFA management team listens and makes every effort to implement a solution that meets their needs. Public dollars deserve the kind of accountability OSFA provides in financing education.

The News to Know is now available on the Policy, Regulations, and Guidance page of our website. Previous editions may be viewed on our Archives page.

Contact OSFA

Tallahassee, FL Customer Service: 1-888-827-2004 Email: OSFA@ Federal Loans: 1-800-366-3475 Locally: 1-850-410-5200 Email: OSFAStudentLoans@

Visit our website at



Click here to contact an OSFA Outreach Representative about your institution's needs.

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NEWS TO KNOW | FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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